Rape Culture

Rape culture is a term or concept used to describe a culture in which rape and sexual violence are perceived to be common and in which prevalent attitudes, norms, practices, and media normalize, excuse, tolerate, or even condone sexual violence. Rape culture is perpetuated through the use of misogynistic language, the objectification of women's and men's bodies and the glamorization of sexual violence. Examples of behaviors commonly associated with rape culture include victim blaming, sexual objectification and trivializing rape.

Examples of Rape Culture:

Blaming the victim ("He/she asked for it")

Trivializing sexual assault ("Boys will be boys.")

Sexually explicit jokes

Tolerance of sexual harassment

Inflating false rape report statistics

Publicly scrutinizing how a survivor's dress, mental state, motives, and history

Gratuitous gendered violence in movies and television

Defining "manhood" as dominant and sexually aggressive

Defining "womanhood" as submissive and sexually passive

Pressure to "score"

Pressure to not appear "cold"

Assuming only promiscuous people get raped

Assuming that men don't get raped or that only "weak" men get raped

Refusing to take rape accusations seriously

Teaching potential victims to avoid getting raped

How can we combat Rape Culture:

Avoid using language that objectifies or degrades women or men.

Speak out if you hear someone else making an offensive joke or trivializing rape.

If a friend talks to you about being raped, be supportive, encouraging and take it seriously.

Think critically about the media's messages about women, men, relationships, and violence.

Be respectful of others' physical space, even in casual situations.

Always communicate with sexual partners and do not assume consent.

Define your own manhood or womanhood. Do not let stereotypes shape your actions.